Once Upon A Gravestone
by Cad2u
Summary: Laughter in a graveyard. Tears upon a grave. Harry visits the graves of those lost in the war. George lives for the one he lost.
1. Tears upon a grave

Disclaimer: Not mine and never will be

Disclaimer: Not mine and never will be.

Bitter laughter broke the silence.

It was a funny thing to hear in this kind of place, a graveyard, but yet here it was.

A young man with dark hair and verdant eyes stood looking at the solemn graves. Those that should be great for all to see proclaiming their hero's death so that people could give them the respect they deserved for many years to come. Those that had been buried to quickly because of the threat of war or had been buried when money was short and none could be spared for the dead.

The laughter came again.

The man dropped, on each grave, a single rose from the great bouquet he carried in his arms. On each grave he dropped a single tear filled with memories of what were and will never be again.

'I wonder' He mused, 'I wonder if it was truly what they deserved. If it was truly their time to go. Is there ever a good time to go?'

He knelt down by a grave. It looked the same as the others but as he ran his fingers gently across the name he saw a difference. Anger welled up inside him. Who dared to disrespect the dead! Who dared to vandalise the gravestones of those that had died so that the world could go on!

He peered closer, as if trying to find an excuse for this abomination.

Laughter.

No longer the bitterness that was heard before but laughter of joy, of remembrance, of happiness, not regret.

**Here lies Severus Snape,**

** May he rest in peace.**

The same few lines written by an uncaring government as an attempt to win over the public by showing their 'deepest regrets' for those that died. What made him laugh were the words scribbled underneath in different colours by different people.

_Greasy git,_

_ Slimy bat of the dungeons,_

_ Double crossing foul bastard,_

Followed by,

_Caring teacher,_

_ Life saviour,_

_ One who risked so much for us,_

_ Headmaster of Hogwarts,_

_ Brilliant Potions Master,_

_ The best Slytherin there will ever be,_

These were the true things people should remember, even the insults. They just prove that he had a job and he did it well. He protected all of us and his only rewards were abuse, pain and finally death.

A small boy with the same dark hair and the same vivid green eyes ran up and stood beside where the man was kneeling, still lost in thought.

"Daddy? Who was that?"

He looked up at his son and smiled.

"He was once a Headmaster of Hogwarts, one of the people you were named after and…" He trailed off.

He stood and took his son's hand in his before walking away. He only looked back once and flicked his wand at the headstone.

_And probably the bravest man I ever knew._


	2. He couldn't stand it

He couldn't bear it. To stand there watching others mourn. He had just lost his one, his all, his everything, his brother. He remembered their lives together that were so full of fun and adventure with never a dull moment and this was how it ended. Returned to the earth from whence we came. A joyful life ended with sorrow. He had even died with a smile on his face. He had had the last laugh after all.

George restrained himself from yelling out. He desperately wanted to scream at the people who were crying or yell everyone for looking sad.

As the final prayers were mumbled and the funeral came to an end, George held back from the group and knelt down in the freshly dug earth. Fingers traced the cold words cut, ever so carefully, into solid marble.

**Here lies Fred Weasley,**

**May he rest in peace.**

No fancy lettering. No posh wording. Just plain and simple.

The family had used almost all of their money rebuilding the Burrow and paying for Bill's wedding leaving them with barely any to spare for the dead. George had tried, offered, begged and pleaded with his parents to allow him to pay for the funeral but since he had only just come out of depression it was too late and everything was already arranged.

Fred had become one of the dead. Just another grave among the sea of marble. All that remained were his memories. 'To live on with me.' Thought George resolutely.

He looked up after a sudden epiphany. 'I will not live in mourning!'

Reached into a bag he and Fred had always carried around. Their ideas bag.

'I will live my life so that Fred may live on in me!'

He placed a small box of objects next to the headstone before standing up and walking towards a woman who stood awaiting him at a respectable distance from the grave. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him as if to say 'life will go on.'

As they exited the cemetery George smirked slightly. 'Respect for the dead...' He stopped, ignoring the puzzled look on Angelina's face, 'I'll show them respect.'

The small box that lay innocently next to the grave began shaking violently before exploding sending masses of fireworks into a brilliant display above the solemn place. Dyes of every colour rained down over Fred's grave turning the white stone into a beautiful artwork and staining the ground surrounding it.

In the future those looking upon this gravestone would just need to use their eyes to see the strong love for the person buried here and what an amazing life they had had. It was a life beyond words.

* * *

Many had died and sacrifices, warriors, heroes or just innocent victims. But their stories would go on and their names would be forever remembered: Once upon a gravestone.


End file.
